


Speak in Code.

by electricxdreams



Category: Rooster Teeth/Achievement Hunter RPF, ScrewAttack RPF
Genre: Fake AH Crew, This is all kind of potato and I'm sorry it's bad, the original character is meant to serve more as a plot device of sorts
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-12-19
Updated: 2018-01-11
Packaged: 2019-02-16 23:40:31
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,640
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13064610
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/electricxdreams/pseuds/electricxdreams
Summary: The arrival of an old friend of Chad's spurs Ryan and Chad to make a choice.





	1. Chapter 1

Chad James woke in the dark to the sound of his cell phone ringing across the room. Groaning, he moved to get out of the bed to answer it, smiling as the arm around his waist tightened in an attempt to keep him close. 

"'s too early. Jus' let it ring." The slurred speech of someone still mostly asleep beckoned him back to bed and for a moment, he considered ignoring the phone. But if it was Sam or Jeremy or anyone else in the crew, his ass would be in a sling for the next month and a half, at least. Or until Gavin found himself on Geoff's shit-list again. Whichever came first. 

"I don't want our asses in a sling if it's the Boss, Ry." Chad replied, stifling a yawn as he slipped from the bed to go grab his phone. 

He didn't even look at the screen before he answered, his only word a raspy 'yeah'. 

He wasn't expecting to hear the voice on the other end. 

"Good to know you still have the same number, Chad."

The phone slid from his hands and thumped to the floor before it registered that his grip had loosened. He bent down and snatched the phone up, listening as Ryan shifted in the other room, now alert. He took a deep breath before he responded to the voice on the other end of the phone, trying to gauge the severity of the issue.

"Coder?" He asked. He had to be certain. If it was Coder, then they were in trouble and seeking some kind of asylum and it was no coincidence they had decided to look to the Fakes. 

"And you remember my name!" There was a dry wit to their voice, but an edge that raised Chad's hackles. 

"Exactly how much trouble are you in, Coder?"

Now at least somewhat conscious, he shuffled toward the kitchen to turn the coffee pot on. He ran a hand over his face and tried to think back to the last time he saw Coder. It had to have been years ago, before they had aligned themselves with the Fakes. Coder had been younger then, but overeager. And entirely too good at getting into things. Including devices and hardware that no normal person had any business getting themselves into. And trouble. Boy, did Coder seem to attract trouble. Chad felt like he'd spent years protecting them already. He was hesitant to start doing it again. 

"I've been double-crossed. I gave my previous partners what they wanted and now they want me dead. I have _nothing_ to my name. They burned down my apartment, thinking I was home." There was a pause before they continued. "I need people for a heist to get my shit back."

Chad let the coffee percolate, the smell perking him up a little bit as he considered his options. The apartment was technically his, though he would run Coder staying by Ryan first. Once he and Ryan knew what it was that they needed, any talk of a heist would be taken to Geoff. He could, of course, tell the gifted hacker 'no'. After all, Coder had other friends. Right?

"You haven't called Twitch?" 

"Twitch got out, Chad. He made it out of Los Santos and to a better life on the other side of the fucking continent. He's washed his hands of our kind." Coder's tone was bittersweet and Chad remembered how fond they were of the bookish boy. It was good to hear he'd gotten out. Someone had to. 

"It's not up to me for you to stay long term. You got that?"

"I don't plan on staying long. Assuming the rotten fucks haven't reported me as dead, I can access my accounts and get a hotel for a few nights while I get shit together to find a new place." They sounded tired, broken down, like they just wanted to sleep. And maybe a shower. "I'll be out of there tomorrow. I really just want a shower and a place to sleep where I feel safe. You've always been safe." 

He had forgotten the black and white nature of how Coder viewed people. Safe and unsafe. Twitch and Chad had been 'safe'. Because of association to Chad, Sam had been safe too. He wondered to himself if they'd even tried calling Sam first. "Just for tonight." He mulled over using Coder's name for added seriousness. 

"See you in twenty. With bagels." A promise of food from someone who was notorious for forgetting to eat breakfast meant they must have been desperate. The phone clicked off without Chad even having told Coder his address. He forgot the little shit could probably find him in ten seconds or less if given the right tools. 

"So.... Coder?" Ryan's voice was still filled with sleep as he spoke and Chad turned to watch him run a hand through his hair and attempt to stifle a yawn, melting a little at the sight of him. He was the perfect state of disheveled, hair a mess, clothes rumpled, just barely coasting out of sleep. 

Chad said nothing at first, instead pulling two mugs from the cupboard - one a nondescript black, the other a deep blue with a chip in the handle. He poured them both coffee, and turned and handed Ryan the black mug before he leaned against the center island and hid behind his own mug. He wasn't sure how to explain everything. He had never fully been open about his past before but now it seemed he was going to have to. 

"Coder is an old friend. From before I got into heisting and... _bigger_... criminal dealings." He began, hesitant at first. "Sam and I were big on the old skate scene here. We were constantly in some kind of trouble. Skateboarding in illegal places, breaking and entering. Small time shit. I actually had plans to go to college to pursue a degree in engineering. I was really good at rebuilding broken consoles and stuff when I wasn't getting my ass in trouble otherwise. Coder and I met because they needed a fix for their old PS2." 

"So what's going on with Coder now? And why that name, in particular?"

"It's just a nickname they prefer. I started calling them that when I realized they had a talent for reading and rewriting code, and they're good in all forms. Need software code? They've got you covered. Need an HTML code fixed? Give them five minutes. Need new HTML code for a web design? Twenty minutes and a can of Coke later, and you've got a new website. Coder's good with code. And hacking. God, are they good at hacking." Chad realized he was rambling and took a minute to take a drink of coffee, one hand fiddling absently with the hem of his shirt. 

"So, they hacked something they weren't supposed to?"

"Someone they were working for decided to get rid of them after they completed a job. Must have considered them a loose end. They want vengeance. But they also need a place to stay while they get a new living situation sorted. Whoever hired them torched their apartment thinking they were inside." 

Chad finally looked up to see Ryan's face. Ryan, to his credit, was generally good at constructing a decent poker face. This was not one of those times. Ryan's features started at upset and then moved to anger and then smoothed to something placid. The corners of Ryan's lips twitched upward an a wry sort of smirk. "...Vengeance, huh? Swift vengeance? Or the type of vengeance that leaves them pissing their pants every time the lights go out?" 

"Wait, you're on board with this? I thought you were on a murder break." 

Ryan chuckled darkly as he finished his coffee, moving to pour himself another mug. "Chad, I might be a murderer, but that doesn't mean I don't have standards. If I hire someone to do a job for me, I don't kill them the second the job is done. Not unless I have something to hide. And I have nothing to hide that I can't murder my way out of." He shrugged. "Besides. A little vigilantism isn't really murder now, is it?" 

A knock at the door caused them both to jump. Realizing it was likely Coder, Chad moved to answer it while Ryan slid off to go put on pants. Checking the camera, Chad frowned, seeing no one there, but Coder's voice told him otherwise. "It's me. Camera's not gonna pick me up. I made an app that keeps video feeds from seeing me. Don't ask how. It's a whole thing." Opening the door found a slight and slender person standing on the other side, holding a bag of bagels and a cup of coffee. Their hands were blackened from soot and there was ash smeared across their face, a bruise forming just below their hairline on their forehead, raven locks barely covering it up. 

"Christ, what happened?" 

"I tried to go into my apartment to save what I could after the fire was put out. Had a shelf fall on my face. I'm not smart." 

Ryan chose that moment to appear from the bedroom doorway, crossing the room to the kitchen to grab his mug of coffee. To their credit, Coder just tracked him across the room as they entered before handing Chad the bag of bagels. "I was wondering when you were going to figure out you were bi." They shrugged, taking a long drink of coffee. "I'm sure Chad's told you all about how much of a trouble maker I was." 

"Eh, not in those words exactly." Ryan replied with a smirk. "So, I heard you need a place to stay. You offered just one night and then you're out of our hair, right?" 

"That's the plan." Coder replied. "I just want a shower and a nap. I'm Owen, by the way, but you should call me Coder. Owen makes me feel like I'm in trouble." 

"'m Ryan." He responded, swallowing his coffee. "You know, we have a spare room we don't use. Instead of putting your name back out there on paper, why don't you stay here until things are taken care of? They think you're dead. You have an advantage. Don't give that up." Ryan didn't mention the fact he had his own place, that was actually kind of nice. Not that he used it. Chad considered the reasons why he wouldn't. None of them sounded good.

Chad blinked. "Ryan, are you sure?" 

"Let me ask you this: Am I wrong?" Ryan raised an eyebrow over his coffee mug. Coder and Chad both shared a look. Ryan was an old hat at this, and good with strategy when he wanted to be. Chad had often said Ryan should be in management, but no one ever took him seriously. 

"You're not wrong." Coder's voice was quiet as they finished off their coffee, Chad stepping toward the kitchen to tear into the bagels, suddenly starving. Peering into the bag, he dug out a fresh, still-warm bagel, and pulled a plate from the cabinet. He peeked back into the bag and discovered that instead of cream cheese, Coder had gotten a small container of peanut butter, remembering that he couldn't have dairy. It was a sweet gesture. 

Coder hadn't moved far from the door since they'd entered, shifting from foot to foot as they sipped their coffee. "If... if it's alright with Chad, then, I accept the offer." They started, hesitantly toward the kitchen to toss their cup into the recycle bin. "Is it cool if I grab a shower before we talk more?" 

"Go get cleaned up. You look like hell." Ryan pointed in the direction of the bathroom. "On the left." 

Once Coder was out of the room and they heard the water running, Ryan spoke again, pressing a kiss to Chad's temple as they cuddled on the couch. "Once this is over, I think I'll just give them my old place. I would rather it be updated to something more high-tech and modern first though." He paused, thinking for a moment. "That is, if you'll have me." 

Chad blinked, running his fingers through his ginger hair. "Are you suggesting we make this whole arrangement all official-like? Both of our names on the lease and shit?"

"Maybe even more official than that." Ryan laughed. "Assuming they haven't figured it out already, we should probably tell the rest of the Fakes." 

"Official-official, huh?" Chad mulled over the idea, considering all of their options. While they'd been staying together for a while, they hadn't really told themselves what it really was. They were more than just friends with benefits and they were good together. Boyfriends. It was almost an alien term. He liked it. 

"Boyfriends. I like it."


	2. Sometimes Brilliant Busted Thoughts.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ryan and Coder have a day to themselves while Chad is out on a job.

It had taken Coder zero time after they had cleaned up and napped to clean up the spare room. They washed sheets and blankets and had taken the time to remake the bed and organize the closet too. A few items even managed to make their way from the spare room into the living room, including a guitar stand, along with a suspiciously clean looking acoustic guitar. Ryan hadn't even known Chad _played_.  
  
Chad had left earlier in the afternoon to help Sam with a job, leaving Ryan with the unknown variable in the household. He hadn't bothered to move from the couch until Grimalkin, Chad's cat, had attempted to sink her claws into his chest to make herself comfortable. He sat up with a groan and spied Coder standing in the doorway to the spare room, their laptop in one hand, cell phone in the other.  
  
"Uh. The _fuck_ is this security system? It looks like something someone threw together in thirty seconds and called it 'good'." They walked toward the living room and dropped into a chair, frowning.  
  
"Are you criticizing my handiwork?" Ryan asked, raising an eyebrow.  
  
"Heavily." Coder replied, mirroring Ryan's expression, tone flat. "I'm fixing it."  
  
Ryan leaned forward, suddenly interested. "The physical system?"  
  
"Do you think I can fix that shit? I'm great at pattern recognition, not fucking around with wires." They replied. "But, just so you're aware, if I'm able to use your Wifi to hack the servers you have in your warehouses, it's a shitty-ass internal security system."  
  
"How'd you even get onto the Wifi?!"  
  
"It's on the side of the router. Also, Chad's passwords are easy-peasy. His laptop password is 'Haywood', which is cute, considering you've both been in denial about your relationship."  
  
Ryan was unable to form a coherent reply, floundering for proper words. On the one hand, that call out felt like an attack. On the other, it was comforting and adorable knowing Chad's password was his last name. Still, he hadn’t quite believed Chad when he’d said Coder was a good hacker. He’d misjudged. Coder might even rival Bragg or even Gavin in skill. He made a mental note to ask Geoff about it. 

“It’s that obvious?” He settled on that, resigning himself to the answer. 

Coder looked up from the laptop, one eyebrow arched in amusement. “I heard you make it all official-like when I got out of the shower the other day. ‘Boyfriends. I like it.’ It was cute.” 

Ryan shifted in his seat, wary. He felt exposed, vulnerable without his leather jacket and mask. His lips twisted into a frown, studying the stranger in the recliner across from him. They had gone back to whatever it was they were doing already, eyes focused back on the screen. He wasn’t a fan of the way the tables had turned on him. He was used to being the imposing one, the Vagabond, the scary shape in the shadows of the room. Now his role had been subverted. He shifted again, uncomfortable. 

“What’s your favorite book?” Their tone was flat, eyes never looking up from the screen. “If you have it, go get it.” 

“What, why?”

“I’m making a cipher for your computer system. Your Wifi password, your logins for your warehouses. Yours and Chad’s will be ciphers. Personal things most people wouldn’t be able to guess. More secure than passwords.” Coder still hadn’t looked up. After a long moment of silence, their eyes rose from the screen to lock with his, their mouth pressed into a thin line. “I don’t think anyone in the world would be able to guess your favorite book, Haywood.” 

He got up from the couch to retrieve it from the bedroom. He had brought it over for Chad to read, having wanted to share something with him that wasn’t just a fondness for takeout and heists. He wasn’t sure if Chad had been reading it at first, but he’d noticed now that the bookmark had moved several dozen pages since he’d last seen it. He smiled. 

When he returned to the living room, Coder was in the kitchen, futzing around aimlessly, possibly looking for something to drink, apparently not a fan of Diet Coke. 

“There’s rum in one of the cabinets.” He offered. 

“I like bourbons and scotches,” they replied. “Otherwise, I don’t drink much.” 

“Check the cabinet under the island. There might be something down there.” He offered again, one shoulder rising in a half-hearted shrug. Coder disappeared behind the island, reappearing again with a can of regular Coke in their slender fingers. 

“This is a triumph,” they muttered to themselves, beginning to hum an unfamiliar tune. They returned to the recliner and popped open the can, holding out a hand for the book. Once it was in their hand, they looked up. “Page and passage.”

Ryan realized then why they needed the page and passage. The cipher was that specific line or paragraph. It was clever. Instead of something easily guessable, the password became something next to impossible to crack unless there was a code run to do it. He shook his head, incredulous. “That’s smart. I didn’t think of doing that.”

“There’s no pattern to it for someone to recognize. It’s a string of random letters and numbers that make no sense to anyone else, but are unique to you.” Coder paused as they finished writing up the cipher and met Ryan’s gaze. “I’m not gonna steer you wrong. Trust me.”

Ryan stared at Coder for a long moment, considering his response. “I don’t not trust you.” He said. “But you’re still a new person to me and I’m not sure…. What you know about me. Or Chad.”

Coder smiled slightly, finished with their work and closing the laptop to set it on the end table. “And you don’t know a lot about me either.” They added. They sat back in the recliner and threw their legs over the side of it. They grabbed the can of Coke and fiddled with the tab for a moment, listening to the hum and the click as their fingers shifted the tab around the mouth of the can. “I’ve known Chad for a long time. Half of the ‘badass’ persona is just a front, but you know that as well as I do.” 

Grimalkin leapt onto Coder’s torso, fluffy tail sticking straight into the air as she began to knead. Coder winced, but made no attempt to move the feline. Ryan’s lips twitched upward for a moment. Coder clearly had a soft spot for cats. When Grimm butted her head against Coder’s chin, Coder cooed and said something in a baby voice for a moment, slender fingers reaching to stroke her fur. 

“When we were younger, he was this ebullient mess of a man, always excited about something. New video game release? He was all about it. New console? On it. New WOW expansion? Eh, those were sometimes hit or miss, but regardless, if he was into it, he couldn’t stop talking about it.” 

Ryan hazarded a smile, trying to imagine it. Most of their conversations were hushed whispers during heists or semi-serious flirting over dinner. He had yet to experience Chad’s excited babbling and he was curious as to what it was like. 

Coder’s head nodded toward the guitar in the corner. “He used to play. He’d fart around with it on weekends with Sam and me when we weren’t skating or getting into mischief with video games. Oh, he plays inverted in Halo, by the way. I don’t know how.” A shoulder rolled up and then back down, a partial shrug. “You should try getting him to play again.”

“Which?”

“Both. Guitar and video games. Take time off from the crew if you can, even if it’s just a weekend. Take time to just… be.” Grimm had now curled up on Coder’s stomach, her tail flopping lazily against Coder’s nose. Coder didn’t seem to care, tickling Grimalkin’s side. 

“Chad is only so open about things. How do I get him to… open up more?” Ryan was curious now, wondering about his boyfriend’s hidden secrets. While he still had his own and was working on telling Chad, he was still interested in all things Chad.  
“It’s up to him when he will. But he’s clearly in love or you wouldn’t be his password.” Coder replied, with a smirk. “So, dinner. You good with ordering in? I know a great Pho place.” 

And for a moment, Ryan was good with the change of subject. The mention of food made him realize just how hungry he was. And maybe Coder would tell him more about Chad if they were plied with food. He shrugged. "Pho sounds good. While we wait," he started, grabbing a controller to the XBox, "Wanna kill time with some PUBG?"

Coder took one look at Grimalkin and shifted slightly, reaching for the controller. "Absolutely. As soon as the Queen decides to get up."

**Author's Note:**

> I was planning on just making this a one-off, but would anyone be up for seeing a continuation? Also, Coder is femme presenting non-binary.
> 
> I'm achievementscrew over on tumblr. Come say hi and give me feedback. Fair warning - I'm awful. At everything.


End file.
